Norma and the Blue Hour - Chris Delyani - ★★★.¾

AUTHOR: Chris Delyani

GENRE: Contemporary Fiction

PUBLICATION DATE: November 13, 2025

RATING: 3.75 stars.

In a Nutshell: A contemporary family drama about an old woman looking for her estranged son. Interesting complex characters, good plot development, steady pacing. Character-oriented. Slightly unsatisfying ending, though this is more about expectations than about writing issues. Recommended.

Plot Preview:

When ex-fashion designer Norma McKinsey, nearly eighty years of age, crashes her car and lands up in hospital, she realises that she needs to get going on the one task she has been avoiding for many years: looking for her younger son Kevin. He is still with her but only in her thoughts, constantly speaking to her. As Kevin left home twenty-five years ago and hasn’t been in touch since, it is high time Norma sets things right. Her elder son Charlie wishes to move her to a nursing home, but she is adamant that she can manage on her own even in her huge house. Her younger sister Julie hence arranges for her tenant, an out-of-work nurse named Alex, to look after Norma while she recuperates. Each of these characters has something weighing on their mind, either from their past or from their present.

The story comes to us mostly in the third-person perspectives of Norma and Alex, with a few scenes from a couple of other third-person POVs.

Bookish Yays:

💙 Norma. Tough and judgemental, but also caring and generous. She is like a coconut – firm outside, soft inside, though she does her best to keep those soft spots hidden. I love how she is independent even at her age.

💙 Alex. Probably the most kindhearted character in the book, he balances the negatives of many characters with his thoughtful attitude. At the same time, he isn't written as chirpy or unrealistically exuberant, which I appreciate.

💙 Norma’s son Charles and her sister Julie. Both seem stereotypical but they aren’t. Julie is especially amazing. Charles is not a character one would immediately like, but I felt quite sorry for him. He bore the brunt of ‘first-born syndrome’, so he got all my sympathies even when he was being rude.

💙 All the key characters are fairly layered. Every character has at least one positive point for us to root for, and each also has one personal baggage they are dealing with, even if this is subtly hinted at and not at the forefront of the main plot. This makes all their arcs interesting.

💙 Given the above, the plot explores well the complexities of human behaviour. Whether it is a sibling relationship, a spousal one, or a mother-child one (with the “child” being quite senior himself), the nuances of each of these are highlighted through various scenes.

💙 The use of the multiple points of view to develop the plot. Nicely handled without any confusion or repetition. The pacing is on the slower side as the book is character-driven, but it doesn’t drag.

💙 The varied themes: grief, lost chances, old traumas, career uncertainties, relationship uncertainties, age-related issues. All get enough space to develop without making the book seem cluttered.

💙 Thought-provoking quotes in many chapters.

💙 One character is of Indian origin, and I appreciate that there is no extended harping on about his Indian roots beyond one line about the meaning of his name. Inclusivity is best when it isn't blatant.

💙 I think the biggest positive from this book for me is the lesson of having greater gratitude for the present. By not making the whole story about Kevin and focussing on several other characters, the book highlights how we ignore those around us to mope about those we have lost. We spend so long pondering the what-if that we lose track of what-is, which is often better than we realise.

Bookish Okays:

✈️ While the blurb isn't inaccurate, it doesn't represent the book well. It makes Norma sound like she is on her deathbed. In actuality, she is discharged almost immediately, and her quest for Kevin isn't the sole focus of the story.

✈️ A cat named Mr. Harry Winston (There’s a good reason for this name! 😅) gets good attention at the start of the book. But after a point, he just vanishes and doesn’t pop up for ages. I wish there had been more of him throughout.

✈️ While I did like most of the key characters (the sole exception is below in the Nays), their behaviour was befuddling at times. Many of their decisions seemed based on half-baked assumptions. They also resort to lying and secret-keeping, neither of which is appealing if overused.

✈️ The ending (basically, the final few chapters) feels a little contrived, with too many things happening at once. Then again, I appreciate the ending for being a HFN rather than a HEA; it suits the plot better. Life doesn’t always have settled endings; why should fiction?

Bookish Nays:

🚘 Minor complaint: Norma’s almost instantaneous computer expertise was farfetched. Mastering a laptop’s touchpad takes time. Perhaps the book shouldn’t have stressed so much on her antipathy for technology so that these scenes could be more convincing.

🚘 Major complaint: Pratyush, Alex’s husband, and his behaviour towards Alex. I think this is the first time ever that I am mentioning a homosexual character and a gay relationship in my Nays column, but let’s be clear: this has nothing to do with their sexual preference. Pratyush’s character is highly off-putting, and his behaviour towards Alex, annoying. Many scenes mention Alex’s fear at Pratyush’s reaction, but these are all portrayed as routine occurrences than as red flags. I wish his behaviour had been called out in some way instead of the whole thing being normalised.

🚘 Critical complaint: Kevin’s track is quite underdeveloped. I mean, it is interesting to see his presence in the background of the entire plot almost like a ghost, even if he isn't physically present. Norma’s tendency of hearing Kevin's voice in her head is also used nicely to keep his track active. However, once the big reveal comes, it is underwhelming and unconvincing. I literally went, “That’s it?” Considering how the blurb made him the focal point of the plot, I expected more and better.

Overall, I enjoyed this character-driven story quite a lot. The first half worked much stronger for me because Pratyush wasn’t around that much and there was still the suspense about Kevin’s track. But the final quarter or so dipped my rating somewhat. That said, I appreciate the book for its different approach towards the ‘estranged son’ trope. It absolutely didn’t go the way I thought it would, thereby leading me to question my own assumptions.

If you are looking for a mother-son reunion story, this isn't for you. If you are looking for a plot-driven work with much melodrama, this isn't for you. If you prefer family stories to have settled endings, this isn't for you. But if you are looking for a character-driven work with realistic, flawed characters highlighting how life doesn’t always turn out the way we assume, this might just be the read for you.

Recommended to those who find the last point above appealing. It would help if you are a literary fiction reader as you would be more used to slower, character-driven storylines.

3.75 stars. (It was a strong 4 stars until the final quarter.)

My thanks to author Chris Delyani and Solid Oaktown Books for providing the DRC of “Norma and the Blue Hour” via NetGalley. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.